Lake City Gateway Airport | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | City of Lake City | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Lake City, Florida | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 201 ft / 61 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 30°10′55″N082°34′37″W / 30.18194°N 82.57694°W /30.18194; -82.57694 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | LakeCityMunicipalFBO.com | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  LCQ Location of airport in Florida Show map of Florida LCQ LCQ (the United States) Show map of the United States | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2009) | |||||||||||||||
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| Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||||||||||
Lake City Gateway Airport (IATA:LCQ,ICAO:KLCQ,FAALID:LCQ) is a city-owned, public-useairport located three nautical miles (6 km) east of thecentral business district ofLake City, inColumbia County, Florida, United States.[1] Formerly known asLake City Municipal Airport,[2] it is included in theNational Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, whichcategorized it as ageneral aviation facility.[3]
The airport was initially built in the early 1930s by the Lake City Flying Club, and acquired by theU.S. Navy during World War II to facilitate pilot training and namedNaval Air Station Lake City and commissioned in December 1942, as NAS Lake City. Established as one of several support facilities toNAS Jacksonville, NAS Lake City was used to trainU.S. Navy andU.S. Marine Corps pilots in land-basedPV-1 Venturas andPV-2 Harpoons. Maximum complement at the air station reached 290 officers and 1,150 enlisted personnel. As many as 200 additional officer and enlistedWAVES were stationed at NAS Lake City later in the war and served in air traffic control, meteorological services, administrative support, and aircraft maintenance. Regular military operations terminated in March 1946 and NAS Lake City was decommissioned as an activenaval air station.[4]
The NAS Lake City property was deemed surplus and subsequently conveyed to the city of Lake City by the War Assets Administration (WAA) and renamedLake City Municipal Airport. One of the first major tenants was Aero Corporation, which occupied the vacated military hangars and maintenance facilities, performing aircraft modification and rehabilitation during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, mostly U.S. military contracts supportingC-130 Hercules andP-3 Orion aircraft. Aero Corporation was subsequently acquired byTIMCO, which was then acquired by Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited (HAECO), privately owned by Swire Pacific, which performs depot level maintenance onBoeing andAirbus commercial aircraft.
In 2011, the airport completed construction of a new 6,000-square foot, fixed-base operations, terminal facility to support business jets and general aviation aircraft operators. In addition, the airport was renamedLake City Gateway Airport.[5][6][7]
Lake City Gateway Airport (LCQ) covers an area of 1,250acres (506ha) at anelevation of 201 feet (61 m) abovemean sea level. It has twoasphalt pavedrunways: 10/28 is 8,003 by 150 feet (2,439 x 46 m) and 5/23 is 4,000 by 75 feet (1,219 x 23 m).[1]
For the 12-month period ending September 8, 2009, the airport had 28,714 aircraft operations, an average of 78 per day: 86%general aviation, 9%military, and 5%air taxi. At that time there were 33 aircraft based at this airport: 67% single-engine, 18% multi-engine, 9%jet, and 6%helicopter.[1]
With its long main runway (8,003 feet), operational Non-Federal Air Traffic Control Tower, minimal air traffic, and land to develop, the airport is ideal for Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facilities.
The airport supports MRO facilities, such as the Aero Corporation starting in 1961, which was acquired byTIMCO Aviation Services in late 1990s and was acquired in February 2014 byHAECO.[8] HAECO modifies and repairs large aircraft, such as commercialBoeing 727,Boeing 737 and variousAirbus airliners, as well as militaryC-130 Hercules andP-3 Orion aircraft for US military and US civilian operators, as well as overseas military and civilian customers.[9]
United States Department of Agriculture operates an Air Tanker Base at LCQ that supports the suppression of wildfires in the southeast regions of the United States.
Med Trans is based at LCQ and operates a helicopter air ambulance service for the North Central Florida area.